Immigration Code, Social integration and further ordinances

Subject: Guidelines regarding the implementation of ordinances of paragraph 1, article 26 of the law v.4251/2014 (GG 80 A) “Immigration Code, Social integration and further ordinances”.

With the ordinances of paragraph 1, article 26 of the law 4251/2014 it is determined that the public services, the legal people related to public law, the organisations prioritising local authority, the organisations and institutions of public unity and the social security organisations are prohibited from providing their services to citizens from a Third country who do not have a passport and a valid permission to enter or a valid residence permit in Greece and who generally are unable to prove that they have entered Greece legally and have a legal right to stay.

With the ordinances of the same law (articles 8, 9, 18, 25) it is determined that the services of the Ministry of Interior affairs responsible for the time period from the deposit of the application to be granted initial permission to stay or renewal of their permission until the issue of the relevant permission provide the applicant with a certificate proving that he deposited the application of annual duration. The holder of the certificate in question can legally stay in the country for as long as the certificate is valid. Moreover, in case his residence permit has not been renewed or has been revoked, the citizen from a Third country is given a special certificate of legal stay of an annual duration which constitutes a temporary residence permit. In addition, people entering the country for a specific reason and for a specific duration of stay, like seasonal workers, those working in fishing boats etc. are given an entrance validation beyond 90 days by the responsible consular authority.

With the grant of the relevant certificates, the citizen from a Third country is not exposed to the possibility of him being removed from the country by force, until he is issued a residence permit or a renewal.

A citizen from a Third country who enters Greece for reasons that are not provided by the ordinances of the above mentioned law is obliged to request the corresponding residence permit, as long as he fulfils the necessary conditions.

Given the above mentioned ordinances and with regards to issues concerning the Register Office, the department or office of Administrative or Electronic Data processing of the Directorate of Financial Services is obliged to provide services to citizens from a Third country only in case it has been proved that they have entered and live in the country legally.

In case a citizen from a Third country who lives in Greece is obliged to register in the Tax Registration Office or is related in any given way to a legal person or entity as well as in case his personal data has changed, he has to show to the responsible employer of the department or office of the Administrative or Electronic Data processing of the Directorate of Financial Services a valid passport or residence permit or a proof that he holds a legal residence permit in the country, such as a certificate that he has deposited his application or a special certificate of legal stay, according to the existing law and deposit visible photocopies of the above documents.

Citizens from a Third country that enter Greece for a specific purpose and a specific period of stay have to show their passport with a national validation of entrance.

At this point, we would like to mention that the guidelines given with the bulletin regarding the “Clarifications on issues related to the modification and completion of the ordinances of the law 3386/2005” are no longer in effect.

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